As we approach the warmer months, the candidates for Song of the Summer start to reveal themselves. One of the leading contenders in 2026 is ‘Boston’, the wonderfully bright, carefree country-folk single from Chicago singer-songwriter, Stella Lefty.

Since its release in February 2026, ‘Boston’ has stormed onto a host of prestigious Billboard and Spotify charts. At the time of writing, the heartwarming, rose-tinted offering sits at over 36 million streams on Spotify alone, with ‘Boston’ having secured Lefty her highest ever ranking on the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 42. Given the rate at which ’Boston’ has been spreading across TikTok, we'd be incredibly surprised if it doesn't go onto even greater chart heights.

But while we've become deeply familiar with the enchanting acoustic guitar and infectious hook of ‘Boston’ in recent weeks, many new listeners are asking who exactly Stella Lefty is?

Hailing from Illinois, Chicago and now calling Los Angeles, California home, Lefty has been building buzz online for a year or so with stellar singles like ‘Stay’ and ’Kiss Me’.

Blurring the lines between indie-folk, country and pop, there's something about Lefty's casually genre-agnostic sound that feels decidedly contemporary. Similarities have been drawn between Lefty and fellow genre-blenders such as Gracie Abrams, Miley Cyrus and Jessie Murph, with Lefty supporting the latter on a slew of tour-dates.

Unlike many contemporaries in this folk-country-pop intersection, though, Lefty infuses the majority of her songs with a refreshingly upbeat, light-hearted and joyful ambience.

This is epitomised by ‘Boston’, which finds the ‘Thinking ‘bout You’ crooner playfully expressing her bemusement at the fact that a relationship has lasted this long, as she gazes contentedly out of the window en route to her boyfriend's hometown. There's a surprising writing credit for Noah Kahan, but he was not directly involved, Lefty just subtly interpolates the ‘Stick Season’ melody on the track.

Much has been made about the fact that Lefty - whose real name is Stella Lefkofsky - has a billionaire father, Eric Lefkofsky. He is the co-founder of Groupon, and is presently the founder and CEO of Chicago-based AI juggernaut, Tempus.

Some naysayers have attempted to use Lefty's father as an excuse to label her a “nepo-baby”, suggesting that he has somehow used his financial might to propel her to stardom. But we all know how difficult it is nowadays to craft, let alone manufacture, a hit single. Even if Lefty had received a helping hand in the early days of her career (we're not saying she did), the immense virality of ‘Boston’, 'Slow Dancin' and 'Thinking 'Bout You' would not have been possible without the songs and Lefty being genuinely and authentically great.

Off the back of her success throughout 2025, Lefty was recruited to record ‘The Kill’, a moody, electric-guitar-fuelled anthem, as part of the blockbuster Scream 7 soundtrack.

Of late, following the release of ‘I Know I Know’ in May 2026, Lefty has been teasing a plethora of new material with fellow country prodigy, Vincent Mason, across social media. It comes after Lefty and Mason hard-launched their relationship via TikTok in April, with Lefty joking in a subsequent interview about how she first saw Mason in a video of Ashley Cooke singing ‘baby blues’ to him at a concert. She asked her management to set up a write with him, but the message never got to him. Soon after, though, Mason DM-ed Lefty praising ‘Thinking ‘bout You’, which led to the duo having a conversation and eventually deciding to date.

With her long-awaited debut album in the works for 2026, a new EP imminent and high-profile support slots for the likes of Tucker Wetmore, Myles Smith and Mumford & Sons, the momentum behind Lefty is sky-high - and showing no signs of slowing.

For more on Stella Lefty, see below: